This same freedom that allows North Korean women to more easily cross the border into China also makes them more susceptible to sex trafficking. That is why today North Korean women in China are the modern day comfort women that few people care about:
North Korean women dressed in traditional dresses, leave the restaurant they work at and head to the North Korean embassy in Beijing, on December 17, 2006. Women participate in North Korea’s unofficial economy in at higher rates and the country’s gray markets have continued to proliferate. UPI Photo/Stephen Shaver | License Photo
SEOUL, July 6 (UPI) — North Korean defectors are overwhelmingly women, according to a South Korean government report released Sunday.
The preliminary data from Seoul’s Unification Ministry indicated of the 535 North Koreans who sought asylum in South Korea in 2015, 444 were women, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Women in North Korea are not subject to the same strict surveillance in place for North Korean men, according to South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh.
The North Korean state employs men in higher numbers, and a prolonged absence from the workplace is likely to raise a red flag.
While Pyongyang maintains a system that discourages men from fleeing the country, North Korean women who are registered as “housewives” in the country are allowed more freedom.
Women participate in North Korea’s unofficial economy at higher rates and the country’s gray markets have continued to proliferate as the state looks the other way.
In the absence of scrutiny, North Korean women also cross the China-North Korea border in larger numbers — an option not available to North Korean men, according to South Korean press. [UPI]
